


Ambitious

by Foolish_Moon



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, Zutara Week 2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-30
Updated: 2017-07-30
Packaged: 2018-12-08 21:06:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11654733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Foolish_Moon/pseuds/Foolish_Moon
Summary: “Icarus.”She whispered when she first laid eyes on him, remembering the tale of the man who flew too close to the sun. Maybe it was the scar, a burnt mark shaped like a lone wing, contrasting against his pale features; or maybe it was his eyes, golden and glaring, like the merciless sun.Zutara Week 2017 Day 4 Entry.





	Ambitious

Icarus. 

 

When Katara was young, she had heard of thousands of folktales and legends the old women in her tribe whisper whenever the land of white turned dimmer. The howling of the arctic wolves and soft murmurs of the waves accompanied the stories of bravery and companionship. She’d heard of warriors sailing through oceans for their beloved, of powerful spirits warring against each other for the affection of a single woman,  and of a lone maiden who disobeyed the gods, unleashing all the evils in the world from a single jar. Thousands of tales were sewn into the lonely nights of the icy tundra, etched hazily into her memory. 

 

“Icarus.” 

 

She whispered when she first laid eyes on him, remembering the tale of the man who flew too close to the sun. Maybe it was the scar, a burnt mark shaped like a lone wing, contrasting against his pale features; or maybe it was his eyes, golden and glaring, like the merciless sun. 

 

Since then, Katara spoke of him like a curse. Because she disliked the story even as a kid, believing that Icarus was a fool who did not know how to listen. And every time they met, she always thought  _ how befitting, _ because the banished prince was too ambitious. Bad will never win over good, and bad was him, wasn’t it? The face of the enemy, the prince of the nation that was crusading war in the whole world. Yet he tried so hard, to capture the avatar, to regain his honor, to fly near the sun.  

 

There was a moment when her disdain for him declined, a moment when she recklessly forgot her contempt for him. In the dimly lit walls of the crystal catacombs, when green lights turned  golden eyes into a color of soft amber, when he spoke words of empathy,  - 

 

_ I’m sorry, that’s something we have in common _ .

 

\- something moved her. Because before anything else, Katara was kind. So she offered healing his scar, to free him of the chains that bound him to his father. And Tui and La knew she was ready to help even him. But  _ of course _ he had to betray her,  _ of course _ he had to make her feel oh so dumb for trusting him. Because he was bad, isn’t he? He will always be the face of the enemy and Katara should have known better. She shouldn’t have let him touch her heart with talk of mothers and destinies, she shouldn’t have let him take a piece of her soul when he chose to side with his sister. 

 

Katara knew since then that everything for him will crumble, no, she  _ wished _ for him to crumble, to fall down, to reap the results of his choices in the worst way possible. 

 

Because Icarus fell, and so will he. Wasn’t that the reason the old maids in her village continued to tell the story, anyway? To talk about how the heat of the sun was too dangerous? To teach children not to aim too high, to be reasonable, to be good, or else you’ll face the consequences?

 

Yet here he was again, in front of them, in front of her, kneeling. And  _ how dare he _ she thought, as she walked towards his assigned quarters in the western air temple, how dare he not fall? It just wasn’t fair, for him to be accepted, for him to suddenly be on the good side, on her side. Destiny or not, she’ll put him in his place. 

 

_ You might have everyone else here buying your "transformation". But you and I both know you've struggled with doing the right thing in the past. So let me tell you something right now. You make one step backward, one slip-up, give me one reason to think you might hurt Aang... and you won't have to worry about your destiny anymore. Because I'll make sure your destiny ends right then and there... permanently. _

 

Perhaps it was her job to make him fall, to make him realize how foolish of a man he is. 

 

But, no, it wasn’t. 

 

Because she saw how dedicated he is in teaching Aang, in guiding him in his training with nothing but patience and sternness. How he selflessly included himself in the rescue of her father and Suki, of helping her brother out with his stupid plan without any qualms just because he wanted to. How he protected them against his own sister (and Katara wished he did the same before, back in Ba Sing Se, when green crystals shone bright and his eyes were amber instead of that sharp gold). She also acknowledged how he helped her, accompanied her, without judgement, in letting her express her anger and revenge her own way. 

 

_ I will never forgive him, but I am ready to forgive you.  _

 

And before she knew it, his face wasn’t the face of the enemy anymore. 

 

So Katara’s in turmoil because somewhere between the moments of him helping out in the multitude of houseworks and him instructing the other members of the gang with similar exasperation as her own, the piece of her soul he took was being given back, part by part. 

 

Then she realized, ambitious was just another word for hopeful. 

 

He was still Icarus, the man who flew too close to the sun, and maybe he did fall. Maybe he fell on his own without her knowing and somehow, he got up to fly again. 

 

“Icarus.” 

 

Her voice was almost nonexistent but it was enough for Zuko to hear. Katara noticed his shoulders stiffening as the name came out of her lips. She was lying on her side, facing the broad back of the man who was destined to take the throne for his nation. They were on their sleeping mats in their assigned tents, Suki and Sokka beside her fast asleep. 

 

Tomorrow, they fight his sister and tomorrow, their destinies would be sealed. 

 

“Icarus.” 

 

Katara repeated, a little louder. She didn’t know why, but for some reason, she just had to let him know. 

 

“You are Icarus.” 

 

Zuko stayed still and Katara watched as his shoulders lax, yet he did not face her.

 

“Thálassa.”

 

“Huh?” 

He turned his body to look at her, his face just almost a feet away. The small light coming from the slit of the tent highlighted his features. Their gazes met and his eyes weren’t the harsh yellow she had despised before. It was the soft amber she had learned to welcome in the past days, the color of warm sunset solidified.  Katara realized then that the sun may be unforgiving on its own but whenever it touches with the time of the moon, whenever it sets and rises, it was gentle and undeniably brilliant. 

 

“If I am Icarus, are you Thálassa?” 

 

And Katara was more confused because she couldn’t remember the spoken name in her recollection of the said story. 

 

“My uncle told me before, whenever I let my pride and rage take over my veins in my pursuit of the avatar, to not be an Icarus. To not fly too high yet stride too low.” 

 

He whispered, his voice a little raspy. The way he talked about  himself was that of a man telling a tale of a stranger, of a ghost. 

 

“Icarus flew too near the sun and his wings melted and burned, leaving him falling and falling,” Zuko continued. Katara listened, and she felt her chest getting heavier, constricting as his voice invaded the space between them. 

 

A pause. Katara held her breath. 

 

“Until he was saved by the mercy of the sea.” 

 

He looked at her, the shade of the muted gold boring into hers. 

 

The moment in the crystal catacombs suddenly flashed before her eyes, remembering the way his scar felt under her fingers as he leaned down on her hand. Then their small embrace after facing Yon Rha, recalling the warmth that surrounded her for barely a second. Then all the instances of them going over from enemies to friends; their relationship so hard won, yet fragile, and worth it all the same. 

 

And Katara immediately understood everything, specifically, the reason why the women of her village continued to speak of the tale even after centuries. It  wasn’t about a boy who did not know how to listen, no, it was about realizing your own foolishness and faults. However, it was also about the grand gesture of kindness and mercy of the sea, of _Thálassa_ , the benevolent sea that caught Icarus in his descend. People tend to forget the other half of the tale, always recalling the mistake but never the redemption. But in her tribe, they will never see the ocean as ruthless, and the sun was anything but cruel. Water is a _giver_ whilst the heat of the sun is the _teacher_ and Katara felt like breaking because suddenly, it all makes _sense_. 

 

“Are you my Thálassa?” 

 

And his eyes, oh his eyes were gentle and she felt her own tear up. 

 

“I- I… didn’t -” 

 

Zuko smiled in her attempt to answer and Katara swore time stood still. The piece of her soul he returned grew heavier, bigger, filling in her chest with feelings so foreign it scared her. The young man moved his hand to wipe the tear off her face, thumb gently brushing her cheeks. She didn’t deserved to be called as such, she didn’t save him. He saved himself yet,

 

“Thálassa.” He repeated as he grabbed her hand, holding it close to his chest while his other hand caressed her. Because she was mercy and kindness, the first person to trust him aside from his uncle, his initial step to redemption. 

 

“You are my Thálassa.” 

 

She didn’t know whether his statement was a surrender, or a release, maybe an apology, perhaps a declaration.  

 

But it reached her all the same. 

 

“Yes.” 

 

So she buried her head in the nook of his neck, holding him closer than ever. His arms went around her, embracing her entire being, cradling her heart. Tomorrow, the war will end and their paths would be sealed, and Katara was ready to face everything already. 

 

Yet the idea of tomorrow made Katara hold him tighter.

 

**Author's Note:**

> This was a spur of the moment kind of thing and as you read, I kind of took creative freedom in regards to the story of Icarus hahaha so like, it's also a fanfic of the original tale? I'm not sure haha. Please be kind, this was all for fun.


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